Reading labels

At Sanitarium, we're committed to providing you with the nutritional information you desire about our products. We feel that the more you know, the more informed decisions you'll make about what you eat and what you feed your family

We support your right to know what's in your food and are pleased that manufacturers are required to provide information on important nutrients such as sugar, type of fat and energy (kilojoules).

Our research shows that you want to know the content of the foods you and your children eat. Therefore we'll endeavour to provide more information on product nutrition panels rather than less.

Reading nutrition labels - it's easy when you know how

Information on food labels can be confusing, but when you know how to read them, you'll find that the label is the best source of information about a product. Labels make comparing different products much easier. Especially now that food labelling requirements specify that all packaged food products contain a nutrition panel listing energy, protein, total fat, saturated fat, total carbohydrate, total sugar and sodium content.

Did you know:

  • The nutrition information panel is an excellent tool for comparing similar products, as the nutrients are listed in a standard format of each nutrient per serve and per 100g (or 100mL if liquid). Here's a guide of some things you can use the panel for:
  • To compare between similar products, look at the 'per 100g' column and choose the product with the least number of kilojoules.
  • Try to choose products with less than 10g fat per 100g, and less than 3g fat per 100g when suitable (i.e.. for foods naturally low in fat, such as cereals, breads etc).
  • Look for products with less than 10g sugar per 100g. Breakfast cereals containing fruit should have less than 25g sugar.
  • Aim to choose fibre-containing foods such as breakfast cereals, bread and pasta with more than 3g of fibre per serve.

Ingredient List

All the ingredients in the product are listed in descending order of amount.
The key ingredients in a product are listed with the percentage indicating how much of that ingredient is actually in the product.

Watch Out

  • If a product ingredient list has fat, sugar or salt, at or near the top, then it may contain large amounts.
  • Fat, sugar and salt may be identified in ingredient lists under other names. Beware when shopping!
    FAT - animal oil or fat, vegetable oil or fat, butter fat, shortening, milk solids, copha, chocolate, tallow, lard.
    SUGAR - sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, dextrose, golden syrup, corn syrup, honey, malt, molasses.
    SALT - rock salt, vegetable salt, baking soda, baking powder, sodium, sodium bicarbonate, monosodium glutamate (MSG), stock cubes, yeast extract.

Understanding food claims......

  • Lite or Light - can refer to the taste, texture, salt content, colour or fat content of a product. Check the small print to see what they are actually referring to.
  • Cholesterol Free or No Cholesterol - this does not mean low or no fat. People watching their cholesterol need to follow a low saturated fat diet, and the cholesterol in foods does not contribute a significant amount to overall blood cholesterol levels. All plant foods are cholesterol free.
  • Low fat food labeled low fat must contain less than 3g fat per 100g.
  • Fat-reduced the product contains at least 25% less fat than the original product, but this doesn't always mean it is low in fat. For example, regular cheese contains around 35g fat per 100g, so a reduced fat variety may still contain 25g fat per 100g - not a low fat food (though a better choice than regular cheese!)
  • Diet - generally means the product contains artificial sweeteners and therefore fewer kilojoules than similar products sweetened with sugar.
  • Baked not fried - the product may still contain high amounts of fat as oils are often used in baking. Check the nutrition panel to be sure.
  • No added sugar - these foods contain no added glucose, honey, sugar or fructose, but may be naturally high in sugar e.g. fruit juice. They can still be high in kilojoules!
  • High in fibre - products containing 3g fibre or more per serve. (Very high fibre products must contain 6g fibre or more per serve).